


Let's Go Walkies

by ermengarde



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-04 22:05:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16355132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ermengarde/pseuds/ermengarde
Summary: No-tags October 2018: Prompt 5. Gerard/Grant, geeking out, maybe Gerard is trying to get Grant to join his D&D group while Grant is totally out of touch with it but just wants to see Gerard's smile.Frank/Ray, SOMETHING WITH DOGS. pet shop, shelter, maybe one is a dog walker, whatever takes your fancy.Ray is a dog walker, he doesn't enjoy it. Frank has a dog that needs walked.Wherein Ray spends a lot of time with Frank's dog and very little time with Frank.





	Let's Go Walkies

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the ever delightful Notags mods *showers with cookies*. 
> 
> Dear prompter: there is a dog. There is definitely a dog. There is not Frank/Ray in any sense other than the potential. I hope this still works.

Ray is the WORST FUCKING DOG WALKER IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. Like, he likes dogs fine, but, like, he's not... alpha or something enough with them? He's actually pretty sure that alpha theory thing is bullshit, but he's taken this stupid fucking job to help out his cousin Marie, and her stupid fucking fiance has opinions and theories and all sorts of bullshit. Ray is about 90% sure that, basically, the dogs _know_ Ray doesn't really want this job and that he's really kind of nervous of the really big dogs, and that Brett (Marie's fiance) is a homophobic _dick_ who feels like Ray's entire existence is an affront to his masculinity, but the alpha thing is the only theory anyone's offered so far, so. 

Ray cannot wait to find a _real_ job, by which he means literally anything without dogs. In his darker moments, five or six poop bags into his day, he can admit that maybe he'd been a bit... choosy ... when he first graduated with no experience doing anything but stacking shelves and completing papers. And maybe he shouldn't have quit his box store job by going in, a little drunk, still in his graduation gown (which he didn't get the deposit back on because he returned it a week late) and shouting _so long sucker!_ at his dick ex-boss before he had any other kind of plan. He'd kind of regretted that the instant the words were half out of his mouth, but there was tequila and... Well. What's done is done and now he's got no experience and no work references. 

His mom had been pretty patient for the first couple of weeks, then supportive, but kind of _pointed_ in her questioning for the couple months after that, then she had suggested that he help Marie with her new Doggie Care business, because she would be flexible about time off for interviews and didn't he want to be earning some money already? HIs mom was an A+ guilt giver.

He's lucky, he knows, because his parents aren't charging him rent right now, but when Ray came home from school he found that his room was full of his mom's sewing stuff and the tailor's dummy looming over his bed gives him nightmares. He's been saving out of what Marie pays him, but after his student loans, and gas, and the occasional coffee and the beers he has to buy Jeff at Ashbury Lanes to get in to all the good shows, he won't have enough to move out until he's about 70. He just needs a job that will pay him enough to, like, start to adult.

He's not had a lot of luck getting any interviews, though, and it's starting to get cold out, being outside all the time is doing terrible things to his hair and his lips are constantly cracked and sore. Maybe he'll be able to get something seasonal, make some money in retail with overtime and heat or something. He sighs as he boots up his brother's old desktop computer - Louie had set it up with this weird start up noise and crappy color scheme, but it still works and Ray needs the internet for job hunting and so he can read the schedule that Marie sends over every Sunday evening. His email is full of spam, Marie's email is in his junk folder and there's nothing about any other jobs. Ray pulls up his resume and prints off five copies. Maybe he'll see some places tomorrow that he can put it in to.

 

Ray's first job on Monday is a new client, he needs to meet with the owner at their place so he can get keys and be introduced to the the dog. There's no breed information on the email, and Ray really hopes that it's not another mastiff. Ray really likes having his shoulders attached to the rest of his body. The owner's house is kinda nice, well kept out front and those flouncy things in the window that his grandma liked. He's hopeful that the owner is old and has an old dog who won't pull and who won't want to walk very far. Ray noticed a coffee shop on his way in with tables outside, he could walk there with the old dog, sit for a while with a coffee and then walk back. That might almost be pleasant. 

The doorbell is one of those really loud old-people ones, and when he rings it Ray hears a thump in response, which sounds like it might be a terrifying horse-sized dog, and a squeaky little growl, which doesn't. Ray has his fingers crossed as the door is hauled open by a short dark-haired dude with a buzzcut, a Misfits shirt and a lip ring. 

"Uhh.. Hi? I'm Ray from the doggie care people?" Ray is super confused , this guy doesn't look like his usual sort of customer, neither too old to walk a dog, nor a corporate busy day-job kinda person. He's also totally not in keeping with the house and Ray still hasn't seen the dog, although he can hear something making a noise like a chewed harmonica.

"Hi!" The guy grins at him. "I'm Frank, and you're here for Sweetpea." There's a yip from behind Frank. 

Sweetpea is, possibly, the ugliest dog Ray has ever seen in his life. She's bug-eyed and her tongue is a little too big and she's, like, not at all in proportion with herself. She's also really small and entirely adorable. She obviously adores Frank, but she also gets super excited when she sees her leash and she's super well trained. Sweetpea is literally the best dog Ray has ever met. Frank, it turns out, is living with his grandma, which explains the decor, and his grandma is not mobile enough to take Sweetpea out for a walk on her own anymore while Frank's out at work. 

Frank introduces Ray to Mrs Iero who complains that Frankie works too hard and he'll get sick, and shouldn't he be home with his Grandma more, and Ray kind of wonders if he'll be Grandma walking as well as dog walking. That could be okay. 

Once Frank's persuaded his Grandma to go and sit down and watch her shows, he brings Ray back into the hall to show him where all Sweetpea's things are. She has more coats than Ray does.

"Okay, so, Sweetpea probably doesn't need super long walks or anything, but you gotta give her time to do her business." Frank looks very seriously at Ray. "She can take a little while to work up to that, especially with new people."

"Uh, okay." Ray has an hour and a half scheduled for Sweetpea's walk, he can wait on her, as long as it doesn't take longer than that. 

"And if you need anything, you can always call me - don't worry my Grandma - I can't always pick up immediately but I always check my messages as soon as I can." Frank hands Ray a business card. 

"Oh wow." Ray turns the card over and reads it. "Skeleton Records, that's cool."

Frank grins. "Yeah, it's pretty sweet. Hard work though." He looks at his watch. "Shit, I gotta go, I'm tracking for one of our bands today. Their lead guitarist is an idiot and didn't figure out that a hand tattoo might make playing a little hard until he healed up. They were already booked in to record and studio time is so expensive."

"Uhhh, yeah." Ray knows it is, he'd looked into studio time, once. When he'd thought about being a musician instead of being a business major. Admittedly, right now, neither of those look like they're going to be a viable career choice and he tries not to frown.

"Okay." Frank turns around and shouts over his shoulder. "Bye grandma, love you, see you later." Then he bends down and kisses all over Sweetpea's head. "Best girl, best girl, best girl, be good for Ray." He hands Ray the end of Sweetpea's leash and a set of keys. "Call me if you need anything, okay."

"I will, uhh, have a good session in the studio?"

Frank grins at him, runs out of the door and leaps the two stairs down to his car.

Ray looks down at Sweetpea. "I guess it's time for your walk, huh?" Sweetpea bounces about 3 feet in the air at the W word and starts pulling on the leash. "'Bye Mrs. Iero, I'll be back with Sweetpea in about an hour."

Ray hears her faint response over the sound of the T.V. as he shuts the door. 

 

Frank was right about Sweetpea being a little shy, they walk slowly around the neighborhood and Ray tries to look away from her in the hope that she'll be able to go. Just a little past the coffee shop there's a park with a section fenced off for dogs, and she finds a spot in the longer grass behind one of the benches that seems to be to her liking. It's nice in the park, there are hedges and trees that block the worst of the wind and there's no one else here. Ray thinks that perhaps he could get a coffee on the way here next time, that could be good.

 

Sweetpea is definitely Ray's favorite client, she's doesn't need much from him but a short walk and being treated like a princess and that's easy. The only thing he ever finds hard is when he gets a pastrami sandwich from the little coffee shop and he can't give her any of it because he doesn't have permission to feed her. He sometimes takes Mrs. Iero down to the park too, giving her an arm to lean on and going very, very slowly. Mrs. Iero is hilarious, irreverent and fiesty and she gave him this magical cream stuff that seems to have stopped his lips trying to peel right off of his face. It's good that he's got the Ieros as a high point of his day, because he's still not having any luck job hunting. He's trying to believe that not everything sucks, but it's hard

One wet, cold tuesday just after Thanksgiving, he's decided he's going to reward himself for managing to get Sweetpea into her little yellow waterproof coat with the fleece lining, with a coffee the size of his head and a chocolate brownie. It takes _forever_ to get there, holding onto his giant umbrella in the wind and trying not to trip over Sweetpea, who is walking between his legs to try and stay dry and when he finally gets there it's fucking _closed_. Sweetpea sighs almost as deeply as he does. 

"Well, that sucks." The cold is almost raw, and he can feel it working right into his bones. He hopes Sweetpea will be quick about her business today. "I should be saving my money, anyways..." Ray sighs. "I need to get presents, and my loan payment's about wiped me out this month already." Sweetpea leans against his ankle and whines quietly. "I know, I know, I don't know why I bothered going to school, I shoulda just tried to make it with the music. At least I wouldn't have all this debt." Job hunting is exhausting, he keeps getting his hopes up and dreaming and failing. He just wants a _job_ , He'll miss the shit out of Sweetpea and Mrs. Iero, but... He huffs out a dejected sigh and hustles Sweetpea to the park. 

Sweetpea is quick, no longer shy with him, and Ray is glad to walk her home from the park as fast as she can go. 

 

The next day, Sweetpea isn't waiting at the door for him, Ray finds Mrs. Iero standing over the dog bed, wringing her hands. "Oh Ray, she's not moved all morning, Frankie laughed when he said she didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but I'm worried about her."

Ray kneels down and Sweetpea lifts her head to him, and thumps her tail, but she doesn't move more than that. Her breathing sounds heavy, like she has a cold. Ray doesn't like it at all. 

"I'm going to call Frank, I don't want to force her out if she's feeling miserable." Ray digs his phone out of his pocket. He'd saved Frank's number the first day they met. 

"If you think so, I didn't know if it was bad enough..." Mrs. Iero sounds worried out of her mind. Even if Sweetpea only has a minor cold, that worry is enough for Ray to call Frank about. 

Frank answers on the second ring. " _...Hello..?_ " He sounds tentative.

"Hi Frank, it's Ray, from the Doggie Care? Sweetpea's kind of lethargic and she sounds kind of congested. Your grandmother's worried and I thought I should check with you what to do."

" _Oh._." Frank sounds worried too. " _Can you bring them here? I know it's an imposition, but I can't get away right now, and I'm pretty sure it will just be a cold, but...._."

"Sure, man, yeah that's fine." Ray gets why Frank would want that, and it's cool. His only other client for wednesdays is on vacation right now, so it's not like he's got anything else to do. "Just give me the address."

The address Frank gives Ray is only about five or six miles away and it's a fucking recording studio. Ray doesn't know what Frank _does_ with Skeleton, but it seems to get him into the studio a lot. Or, well, twice that Ray knows about, but that's like 100% of the time as far as he knows.

 

It takes an hour to get everyone into the car and over to the studio. Sweetpea sleeps for nearly all of it and she doesn't seem very keen to get out of the car when they arrive. Ray picks her up and zips her into the front of his coat, so her head is sticking out just below his chin. Mrs Iero just stares at them, worriedly, and uses her cane to press the door buzzer as soon as Ray helps her out of the car. 

Frank himself lets them in. 

"Hi, hi. hi!" Frank goes straight to speak to Sweetpea, and it's kind of odd because he's talking basically to Ray's chest, and even odder when Frank pulls down the zip on Ray's coat and lifts her out. 

Ray takes Mrs. Iero's arm and follows Frank and Sweetpea inside. They walk straight into the producing side of a music studio. Ray recognises the dudes on the other side of the glass as regulars at the Lanes. He's never seen them play anything, though admittedly they're not playing anything now either. They're both pressed up to the glass watching Frank carry Sweetpea. 

"Oh baby girl." Frank settles Sweetpea onto the couch. "You've got a cold, huh?" 

Sweetpea whines in agreement and puts her face into his hand. 

Frank turns and looks at Ray and Mrs. Iero. "Grandma, you come and sit here too.." He pats the couch next to Sweetpea. "Thanks for bringing them Ray, I think it's just a cold, but I'm glad to see her."

"That's cool, I don't have much else on today, so damsels in distress..." He smiles winks at Mrs. Iero, who smiles back at him and chuckles. 

Frank grins "Hey, don't hit on my Grandma! Thanks though, I mean it." Frank bites his lipring into his mouth. "Say, you don't play guitar, do you? I noticed the callouses." Frank gestures at Ray's left hand. "If you're not busy..." Frank shrugs. "I've been helping these guys out, their guitarist's sick, so I've tracking a bit for them, but it's a total pain in the ass to record and mix and try and balance and shit all at the same time. My sound engineer's sick too - I swear to god _everyone's_ got a cold right now."

Sweetpea, with impeccable timing, huffs and puts her head in Mrs. Iero's lap. 

Ray smiles. "Ahh, a bit, I suppose, like, I've never done anything much beyond highschool bands and shit with it, but... I could try? I can read tab a little." Ray spent one summer obsessively learning how to play songs from tab printed off from the internet. He doesn't think he's forgotten it all. He hopes, anyway.

"Awesome. You are a god amongst men Ray." Frank beams at him. 

 

Ray, it turns out, has not forgotten how to read tab and he could no more forget how to play guitar than forget how to breathe. 

Sweetpea it turns out does just have a cold. She lets Mrs. Iero spoil her with chicken and ham for at least a month after she's better. Ray's never seen a better canine actor in his life.

Frank, it turns out, is, in fact, the owner of Skeleton records. Frank can't afford to send a lot of work Ray's way, not at first, but Ray is good and he starts to build a real reputation for himself. He starts to make enough that he manages to give up his dog walking gig, and he would be missing Sweetpea, but he _also_ moves out of his mom's sewing room and into Mrs. Iero's. It's not exactly what Ray had planned on doing with his life, but he's really fucking happy, and Frank is super happy to help Ray out by being his date to Marie and Brett's wedding and to help Ray undermine all of Brett's masculinity and to explain to Brett, in some detail, how dog social dynamics actually work.


End file.
